About This Book

Sometimes you can choose your family... by choosing to love a cat! But just because they're animals it doesn't mean they won't be as complex and individual as anyone else around. They come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. From silly to sophisticated, from impish to affectionate, and everywhere in between, our cats are important and beloved members of our families. Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Cat will have readers of all breeds laughing, commiserating, and maybe even shedding a tear. These 101 heartwarming, humorous and completely true stories about our feline friends are sure to touch every cat lover's soul. Perfect for every cat's person.

More from Chicken Soup for the Soul

Five things you should just plain accept about your cat!
Inspired by Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Cat by Amy Newmark; Foreword by Robin Ganzert

Whether they are very good or very bad, our curious felines often amaze us with their abilities! From cats with nine lives to cats that save lives, from cats that wreck houses to cats that repair families, we've got the stories! The 101 stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Cat will help you see your own cat with new appreciation for his or her unique skills and intuition. Here are five things you should accept about your own crazy cat:

Your cat is in charge. It took Joshua J. Mark a long time to realize who was really boss in the house—and it wasn't him. Whenever his family’s cat Draco went to the fish tank—for a drink of water, not for the goldfish—Joshua tried to stop him. Unsuccessfully, too. "Who was this cat to continuously defy me?" Joshua writes. "I was the man, he was the cat, and he was going to learn to behave as it pleased me." This "fish-tank war" went on for nearly two years until Joshua realized Draco's use of the fish tank as a water fountain wasn’t actually harming anyone. "If you have a cat, you must at some point recognize who is master and who is not," Joshua says, "and the sooner you do that, the happier you both will be."

Your cat may want his own pet. Even though Tina Wagner Mattern had three other cats at home, her black-and-white cat Sam had the most fun with the family's dwarf rabbit. When Tina brought home Bunny Jean, Sam was immediately drawn to the new pet. "Before a week was out, they were best buddies, chasing each other around the family room," Tina says. Sam would hide under a rug, waiting for Bunny Jean to hop by so they could play. "When he pounced, the two would roll around on the carpet, wrestle and play hide-and-seek until one or the other finally collapsed into a nap." Sam had found his own pet companion.

Your cat is your family's protector. In a house with a Doberman and a Siamese cat, Trish Featherstone didn’t expect her dog-hating cat Paxton to be the protector. Paxton tolerated the dog Sasha just enough to coexist. Then one day Trish came home to find old and frail Sasha lying in the back yard with several ravens closing in and Paxton fighting them off. "Paxton literally had one raven by the leg, another by a wing, and was going for a third," Trish shares. The cat ultimately drove off the ravens. "And ever after that day, she had a guardian," Trish says of her dog. "Sometimes they would sleep together, dog on the grass, cat on the fence above, but the cat was always there. The dog was never alone again."

Your cat is a natural therapist. The kitten that Connie Kaseweter Pullen's son rescued and brought home for her latched onto Larry, Connie's husband who was dying of cancer, instead. And the man didn't even particularly like cats! The kitten was so devoted to Larry that he became known as Little Larry. "If someone picked him up, he became restless after a few moments and jumped right back on Larry’s bed," Connie says. "He didn't just lie at the foot of the bed; he had to be touching Larry at all times." The whole family admired the bond between Larry and Little Larry. "It was understood that Little Larry’s mission was to be there to comfort and support Grandpa," Connie says. "Our faithful little kitten remained at his side until his very last breath, imparting comfort not only to Larry, but to the rest of us as well." And then the little kitten disappeared, never to be seen again, his mission accomplished.

Your cat knows the rules even if she doesn't admit it. When Kitty Chappell's rambunctious young cat Single jumped onto the dining room table, it perturbed not only her, but her older, more mature cat Smokey as well. "He fixed a long hard stare on Single, then looked in my direction as if to ask, 'Well, what are you going to do about that?'" Kitty says. She reprimanded Single, who ignored her. This only annoyed Smokey further. "He knew Single had broken the rules and eagerly waited to see some serious consequences to his behavior," Kitty writes. She swatted Single lightly, and he finally jumped off the table. But Smokey didn't see that as punishment enough. "Smokey suddenly whacked Single on the side of the head with his big paw, bowling him over," Kitty says. "Though Single was unscathed, Smokey walked from the room with head and tail high, satisfied at having taken matters into his own paws."